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Morning Notes

Published October 10, 2013 at 8:55AM

Arlington’s Feuding Bike Donation Charities — “Arlington, surprisingly, is home to not one but two nonprofits that donate bicycles to the underprivileged in Africa and elsewhere,” writes Our Man in Arlington columnist Charlie Clark. “Our 26-square-mile county, however, may not be big enough for both – the two groups do not ride alongside each other smoothly.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Pike Apartment Ad from the ’60s — The Columbia Pike apartment complex now known as the Wellington is seen in a 1960s-era advertisement uncovered by Ghosts of DC. The then-new “Executive Apartments” were “designed to meet the requirements of successful executives who can command the finest in luxury air-conditioned apartment living,” the ad says. Rent for a one bedroom was $135 per month. [Ghosts of DC]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 2, 2013 at 9:00AM

Library Sets Another Summer Reading Record — Arlington Public Library has set another summer youth reading record. This summer, 8,079 students participated and read more than 32,000 books, up from 7,415 participants and 30,000 books in 2012. [Arlington Public Library]

‘Arlington’s Got Talent’ Seeks Contestants — Leadership Arlington is seeking local acts for its annual “Arlington’s Got Talent” show. The event will take place on Nov. 18. Video submissions from performers are due by Oct. 28. [Leadership Arlington]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 25, 2013 at 9:20AM

Moran’s New Beard Called ‘Santa Chic’ — Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) has been sporting a white beard since August. While the 68 year old’s new look has its supporters and detractors, the congressman’s own staff has taken to calling it “Santa chic.” [The Hill]

Letter: Arlington Dems Use African-Americans as ‘Window Dressing’ — In a letter to the editor, Bobbie Fisher, an African-American resident of Arlington, says that Arlington Democrats are taking African-American voters for granted and not paying sufficient attention to their concerns. “Walk into any [Arlington County Democratic Committee] meeting, you will never find more than a few African-Americans present,” she writes. “We are viewed as window-dressing or bobble-heads, to sit quietly while others raise questions of interest to their community.” [Sun Gazette]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 23, 2013 at 8:00AM

Fisette Weds Long-Time Partner — Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette married long-time partner Bob Rosen last week. After 30 years together, the couple tied the knot in a low-key ceremony at All Souls Unitarian Church in the District. Fisette and Rosen’s union will not be recognized in Virginia, but Fisette said he thinks that same-sex marriage will be legalized in the Commonwealth within five years. [Sun Gazette]

Smash-and-Grab Lookout Sentenced — The man who served as a lookout in a series of smash-and-grab robberies in the D.C. area, including this robbery at the Tourneau store in Pentagon City, has been sentenced. Floyd Davis, 43, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his role in the crimes. [Washington Post]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 13, 2013 at 8:55AM

Arlington Two-Year-Old Has ‘Read’ 1,000+ Books — A two-year-old Arlington girl has read — or, at least, had her parents read — 1,000 books so far. The girl is the poster child for Arlington Public Library’s new “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program, which encourages parents to help children build language skills by reading what amounts to about one book a day. [Washington Post]

Jose Andres Products Coming to Whole Foods — A new line of Spanish oils, vinegars, olives and “easy-to-make paella kits” from Chef Jose Andres, of Jaleo fame, will be coming to Whole Foods stores around the Washington area next month. [Washington Business Journal]

Around Town

Woman Leaves Library $700,000 In Her Will

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 12, 2013 at 3:30PM | Updated September 12, 2013 at 3:47PM

Rosemarie Bowie lived most of her life in Arlington and was 76 when she died June 24. She left her home on the 700 block of N. Danville Street, and half of her residuary estate, to the Library. The property was assessed at $626,500 this year and the residuary estate is believed to be worth more than $100,000, according to Library spokesman Peter Golkin.

Bowie was “a quiet person, loved the Library, used it often and simply didn’t want to bother her family with her estate,” Golkin said.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 10, 2013 at 8:45AM

Arlington No. 1 in Va. for Tourism — For the fourth year in a row, tourists spent more money in Arlington than any other place in Virginia. Tourism generated about $2.8 billion in visitors spending in 2012, a 3.9 percent increase over 2011. The increase in spending happened despite the partial defunding of the county’s Convention and Visitors Services in 2012. County officials and local hotel managers are lobbying the state legislature to restore Arlington’s former 0.25 percent hotel tax surcharge in order to better promote tourism and visitor spending. [Arlington County]

New Additions to N. Va. Senior Olympics — About 730 people are participating in the 31st annual Northern Virginia Senior Olympics at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 2nd Street S.). The 13-day event features two new sports: rowing and handball. [Sun Gazette]

Around Town

Author Chides Hollywood for D.C. Inaccuracies

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 20, 2013 at 2:00PM

Washington, D.C., likes to call itself the most powerful city in the world, but films based in D.C. have a knack for missing some basic information that would make locals chuckle. Those omissions made for a lively talk at the Arlington Central Library on Monday afternoon.

Author Mike Canning released the book “Hollywood on the Potomac” last year. It’s a comprehensive guide to how the film industry has treated D.C. as a subject, character and background since the time when moving pictures with sound were called “talkies.”

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 6, 2013 at 8:45AM | Updated August 6, 2013 at 9:34AM

Gun Fact Check — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took aim at Virginia for being one of the top suppliers of guns used to commit crimes in his city. He called out the state for having weak gun laws. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s office fought back, releasing a statement saying the state has some of the toughest gun laws in the country and its rates of crimes such as homicide and robbery are lower than in New York City. The New York Daily News checked out the claim, however, and found that Virginia has 3.9 killings for every 100,000 people. That’s compared to the state of New York — not just New York City — with 3.5 murders per 100,000 people. [New York Daily News]

Rabbits at Library — The library’s regular Paws to Read program is on hiatus in August. Instead of using dogs this month, one of the librarians suggested bringing in rabbits to join kids while they read. The librarian noted that the Muslim families she knows aren’t able to participate in the Paws to Read program because Islam discourages touching dogs. Three rabbits — Mocha, Copper and Apache — already took turns cuddling up with visitors at the Columbia Pike Branch Library. [Arlington Public Library]

Around Town

Library Shatters Summer Reading Record

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 31, 2013 at 9:30AM | Updated August 1, 2013 at 3:14PM

(Updated on 8/1/13)

The Arlington Public Library summer reading program has already broken its all-time participation record with more than three weeks remaining until registration ends.

Around Town

Video: Paws to Read Program

By ARLnow.com

Published July 24, 2013 at 11:00AM

A dog can’t judge your reading skills or correct your pronunciation of words.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 19, 2013 at 9:00AM

Hot Car Mom Released from Jail — Zoraida Magali Conde Hernandez, who’s accused of fatally locking her 8-month-old son in a hot car earlier this month, was released from jail yesterday afternoon after being granted a $25,000 bond. Police say Conde Hernandez accidentally left the baby in her car for 6 hours while she went to work. NBC4 reports that she works at the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. [NBC Washington]

More Money for Paving in Virginia — More money is available for VDOT’s summer paving effort this year thanks to new transportation taxes. The planned repaving includes 90 lane miles of interstate highways and 79 miles of primary roads. Arlington is one of two Virginia counties that doesn’t rely on VDOT for maintenance of secondary roads. [Sun Gazette]